Articulating the "Way Forward"

- / -

Prepared as a contextual statement (see others)
on the occasion of the Earth Summit (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) for the International
Facilitating Committee for the Independent Sectors in the UNCED process (Geneva).
Portions of the text were published in the Encyclopedia
of World Problems and Human Potential (1994-5, vol 2) and in the online
version of its commentaries (to which links below are made) shaping the global
network of local bargains by decoding and mapping Earth Summit inter-sectoral
issues. [IFCD51F ]

1. We should
move away from mere reiterations of our sectional concerns and interests.

2. We should
aim to deepen our understanding of the perspectives, the objectives, and the
implications of our own sectional interests and positions. This itself would be
achieved by willingness to subject those interests and positions to candid and
rigourous examination in a collegial climate.

3. We should
aim to deepen our appreciation of the perspectives, the objectives, and the
implications of the sectional interests and positions of others. This is
inevitable in a process where all ideas contend and all voices are heard in an
atmosphere of mutual respect and tolerance.

4. We should
seek to recognise the points of convergence: the concerns which are shared, the
issues which unite, and the universal interests which energise us all. This
would be a natural result of deepening understanding of one's own as well as
others' positions.

5. We should
attempt to go beyond recognizing merely the least common denominators and seek
also to isolate the points of divergence: the concerns and interests which
separate us and which therefore do not lend themselves to unified or collective
actions and approaches. It is understandable that there will be an irreducible
set of concerns and interests around which there is and can be no consensus.
This is inevitable given our different cultures, background, motivation, and
life situation. It may even be desirable that this be so, as a way of
preserving individuality, diversity, and group identity. All the more reason
that the points of divergence be analysed, isolated, understood and respected
in our continuing dialogue.

6. We should
seek to identify the milestones of progress relating to the concerns and
interests which are shared, as well as the various routes by which we might get
there.

7. We should
aim to agree about the prospects for and the specifics of action which should
be undertaken, wether individually or collectively, in order to reach those
milestones.